May I be overvolting my CPU despite disabling Asus APE in BIOS?

[Marcos Baras]

Hi everybody!! My PC specs are as follows:

• Core i5-13400F (stock)
• Arctic Cooling i35
• 2 x 16 GB DDR5 Kingston Fury Beast (XMP1-5200 CL40)
• SSD1: 1TB WD_BLACK SN770 NVMe
• SSD2: 480GB Kingston A400
• ASUS TUF Gaming B760-Plus Wifi
• PNY GeForce GTX 1660 XLR8
• Gigabyte UD750GM PG5 750W ATX 3.0 PCIe 5.0
• Windows 10 Pro 22H2 x64

I am aware of reports regarding Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen unlocked desktop processors experiencing issues with certain games, especially crashes during the shader compilation process. I know this would not be my case because I have a locked i5, but I do know too that these issues are, in many cases, related to certain default BIOS settings that unlock CPU’s current and power limits. The point is my BIOS comes with APE 3.0 (Asus Performance Enhancement) setting enabled by default, and Asus itself warns the user about it not following Intel guidelines regarding power limits.

Having heard about the problem, I disabled it, but even when it disabled, ICCmax setting remains at 500A, which seems rather excessive to me. So I looked for the intel recommended value and changed it to 140A. I have run some OCCT stress tests and it seems pretty stable, regardless being less than 1/3 of the auto value.

I have to clarify than I HAVEN'T HAD any stability issues with my system so far, but I have been using my PC during more than 2 months with APE setting enabled without knowing it could be dangerous, and I prefer being cautious than being sorry later. My question is simple: should I be worried about harming my CPU in the long term or I can assume the steps just taken are enough?

I attach some BIOS screenshots below.

Thx in advance!

 

[Sagath]

You should be fine. It's unlikely any damage occurred in that short a timeframe, if you weren't stresss testing your CPU to the limits.

Motherboard manufacturers are notorious for these tactics in order to 'game' the reviews in their favour.

Good catch!

 

[Marcos Baras]

Ok, understood. Thanks a lot for your help!!